Toshiba is expected to pledge allegiance to the Blu-ray flag in a matter of days. Japanese analysts are now predicting that the Corporation will officially confirm its support of the format, some eighteen months after pulling the plug on rival HD DVD.

The company will most likely announce a Blu-ray recorder for the Japanese market, probably for release before the end of the year, and a Blu-ray player for the rest of the world.

The move, which was predicted by www.homecinemachoice.com on June 25, follows a statement made by Toshiba chairman Atsutoshi Nishida at a company shareholder meeting in Tokyo, at which he indicated that the company was reconsidering its position on the format. One quote had Nishida stating: 'It makes no sense to decide not to enter the Blu-ray market simply because we lost the DVD format war. We cannot change the fact that we lost.'

In May, 66.4 per cent of all video recorders sold in Japan were Blu-ray recorders. According to new figures from the Digital Entertainment Group (DEG), sales of Blu-ray software in the US alone were up 91 per cent during the first half of 2009. US Blu-ray Disc hardware sales exceeded two million units over the same period, bringing the total installed base of Blu-ray devices to nearly 11 million units.

'The overwhelming satisfaction expressed by consumers with regard to Blu-ray shows great promise to the industry's economic future and we are also optimistic regarding their appetite toward digital technologies,' says Bob Chapek, Chairman, DEG and President of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment.

Via Home Cinema Choice